Curse
by Lonewingwriter
Summary: AU, Ancient Japan, adventure & fantasy. The world that Inoue Orihime lives in is full of mysteries. Can she find the truth of this world and her own destiny with help of the skilled fighter Kurosaki Ichigo? Ichihime.
1. Power awakened!

**A/N: **

Late birthday present for my dear **Sari.**

**Setting**: Ancient Japan (or whatever setting that has kimono, swords, magic/superpower, samurai, priests, ect...you name it.)

This will be a fantasy / adventure story that features Orihime Inoue, the main heroine, and her friend Ichigo Kurosaki, the main hero/her main love interest, in their journey to find the truth of their world as well as their true destiny. May or may not contain overt romance materials.

Thank you, **Annie **for your awesome notes and advices.

(3/4/12)

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><p>It was a curse.<p>

This power was a curse.

Her eyes still closed, for even if she opened her eyes she could not see anything, not with this blindfold over her eyes. It would hurt more if she opened her eyes.

She should not move her hands either. Her wrists would hurt too under the tight rope that glued her hands together. She thought her arms were going to break. It was aching all over, with her hands behind her back like this.

Her legs were sore from all the walking she had done. How long did they make her walk around? Two hours? But it felt like days, or even years.

But...

She would not stop. She would continue to walk, to follow them, to be captured, for she had someone she needed to protect. She hoped that they would not discover it. Maybe they would soon, but she hoped that by then it would be too late.

This power was a curse, but for the first time in her life, she could use it, for the first time in her life, it was useful for her. Maybe it would not be too bad after all.

There was a scent of bamboo. The scent became stronger and stronger as she stepped on the wet grass. They must be in a bamboo forest now. She could feel it. She could hear the ripple of the leaves whirling in the wind, fighting ferociously before falling down to the ground.

She was startled a little when she stepped out of the dampened mosses and was led into a wooden stair. She guessed it was a wooden stair because of the sound it made when she stepped on it. She wished she could free her hand now and pulled the hem of her kimono a little bit up her ankles. She would trip if it continued to hang around her zouri like this. Formal kimono was really difficult to wear. A man roughly grabbed her elbow and pushed her forward.

She was in a room now. She guessed, because it got warmer and she could smell a faint scent of incense.

Her breath accelerated as she heard footsteps, soft but firm and strong, coming closer and closer. The presence of whoever made that sound overwhelmed her, making her feel weak and want to drop down to her knees, like she was sucked into its power, totally under its control. She knew that it was a man. He was _the man_.

Fingers touched her chin,elegantly raising her chin up, appraising her.

"Arisawa-hime." The voice was so deep. She thought she was drawn into an abysmal pit, intoxicated by the gentle yet over-powerful sound. She could feel his breath on her neck as he leaned closer and untied the blindfold, freeing her eyes.

The piece of cloth dropped down to the floor, but she kept her eyes closed a little bit more before slowly opening them. She was scared. She was scared of the light that would come to her eyes and future that lay under it.

He was handsome, just like the way she thought he would be. Mahogany brown eyes, chestnut brown hair... a smiling and confident face. She had to raise her head to see his face. He was so tall... and so... Yet, she was so small and insignificant, compared to him. He wore a dark blue kimono and a black haori, with a white diamond pendant that swayed slightly over his black hakama under the wind that came through the open windows.

He looked at her for what seemed like an eternity, then he nodded and took his hands away. "I never could have imagined that Arisawa-hime is this beautiful... unless," he put his two hands into his long sleeves. "unless... the beauty in front of me is not her."

He then turned his head towards his subordinates, "Thank you for your good work today, but I'm afraid I cannot let your rest just yet..."

"How do you know that I'm not Arisawa-hime?" Orihime said, trying to hide her fear away. She had to do something, anything to protect Tatsuki.

"Oh..." He turned to her and smiled. "What's your name?"

"Orihime. Inoue Orihime." She immediately bit her lower lip. She was taken off guard. How could she be so stupid, telling him her real name like this?

"See? Then you're not the one we are looking for." There was an obvious hint of mockery in his gentle smile. "But..." He hooked her chin between his thumb and index, forcing her to look into his deep brown eyes, "but don't worry, Inoue-san. I still might find you quite useful in other areas." He took a quick glance at her chest with a smirk on his face then spun around in a swift movement.

"Bring her to my chamber and guard her well." He reached the door and glared at his subordinates, "Also take care of the mess you just made. I won't tolerate failure the next time." His eyes sparked with dangerous killing intent. "If there was any fault in my plan, then it must have been due to your incompetence. And any flaws that result in failure should be eliminated. Remember that well."

The door closed, but she could still feel the fear swallow the whole room. All of the brawny men were now trembling, their foreheads dampened with sweat.

Even her heart was racing faster and faster until his presence completely disappeared from her senses.

XxXxXxXxXx

His plan was perfect. That much, she knew.

Sitting on the giant futon behind the bamboo curtain, Orihime tried to free her hands in vain. Her guard was sitting on the other side of the curtain, stoic and expressionless. She must not draw his attention, but there was really nothing here that could help to cut the rope apart.

She had to calm down and think hard.

She began to close her eyes and meditate.

The future was something uncontrollable... unattainable. And for years many people could do anything just to attain that invaluable piece of information, for they believed that if they could get a hand of it, they could control their fate, but that was not true. If people knew the future and be able to change it then that future they tried to change was not their future truth was that the future was the future because we neither could control nor change it. However the truth was also that there were the few who could foresee the future, and it was an abominable power.

It was a curse, not a gift.

Because again, the future could not be changed.

It just added more pain when we knew a person would die but could not do anything against it, could not do anything to prevent it. Completely helpless. It was much better if we never knew.

Inoue Orihime was one of the few that were cursed by that power. To preserve the future, there was an additional curse given to those who could see the future. That was, no one would believe in what they say, so even if they told others about the future, not a single soul would believe them.

Orihime opened her eyes, unable to concentrate. She was here, captured instead of Tatsuki. Did that mean that she changed the future? Would it lead to any consequences? No, she shook her head, she had never foreseen that Tatsuki would be captured. She foresaw _the plan_, the attack in the middle of the road, and she knew that the target was Tatsuki, daughter of Arisawa-sama, Lord of west Karakura. All of her visions were fragments and unconnected, but she actually never saw that Tatsuki would be captured, which meant she did not change the future.

Maybe this power was not supposed to be used for others. She was not supposed to tell others about the future but rather use it for herself, and her actions based upon her premonition would be what that led to the future. Everything in this world had a purpose after all, but she had not yet discovered what her role in this universe was. This was the first time that she found her power useful, so maybe this would lead to the answer of what she could do with this power and the path she had to go in her own future.

She closed her eyes again. She must find out the answer. There must be one. She had to get out of here and find someone to help Tatsuki against another attack from that man. There must be someone around here that could help her because that was why she was brought here. There must be.

_A young man chained in a dark room..._

_Bamboo..._

Exhausted, she fell down to the futon and drifted off to sleep.

XxXxXxXx

Her hands were freed. She opened her eyes sleepily. The man she saw earlier in the main room was sitting next to her, caressing her cheek. Heaving, she tried to get out of his reach, but he grabbed her wrists and threw her down on the futon.

"Now, now...' He whispered into her ears, "my dear, you should be more obedient. You're mine after all."

"Yours?" Her face was all red from the embarrassment, and he chuckled. "Yes, mine."

"Aren't you ashamed of yourself?" She placed her hands on his chest, trying to push him away. "You dress like a noble, but you act like a rogue. Even a rogue should have some pride and not force himself on a young, harmless girl."

"A young, harmless girl?" He made a sound that was like a laughter. "You surely don't look like a young, harmless girl to me." His eyes darkened and he lifted her face with her chin, "Tell me, Orihime. How did you switch places with the princess without anyone noticing? And why did you do so? Where did you hide the princess?"

She looked away. The stone on her heart had lifted. So it meant that he had not been able to find Tatsuki yet. If the lord, Tatsuki's father, sent his men to find his daughter, then there were a chance that Tatsuki would be saved. However, there was also the possibility that this man in front of her would send his men to follow the lord and find Tatsuki first. There were also possibilities that...

"You know, you're a very smart girl." The voice of the man brought her back to reality. His face was so near her now, she could feel his breath on her cheeks. "However, I'm still the winner. I don't even need you to tell me where you hid the princess. As long as the princess is out of her father's reach, I can still make him do whatever I wish."

It was so difficult to think and focus with this devilishly handsome villain so close to her, capturing her gaze completely. She did not even dare to think too much, for she feared that he might read what was in her mind with those bright and knowing eyes, and it could be fatal if he knew about Tatsuki's whereabouts. No matter what he said, Orihime knew that he needed that piece of information. Even if he could threaten Tatsuki's father like he said, Tatsuki being out of his control was still a serious menace to his plan.

Moreover, Orihime doubted that the real purpose of kidnapping Tatsuki was to blackmail her father. For one, Orihime knew better that women in this time and society were just objects that could be useful to men. Though Tatsuki's father loved her dearly, as a man, a lord, a head of his clan and land, he would never trade the security and well being of his people for his own daughter's life. He would sacrifice her for sure. This man in front of her was definitely a smart man and if he planted spies around the lords, he must know and foresee this fact. What was his real intention?

"What's your name?" Orihime asked. She figured it'd be better to stall time and learn more about her enemy first.

"Tsk...tsk..." He shook his head in disapproval. "That's no way to talk with someone of a higher rank than yourself. You certainly have no manners."

Orihime flushed and she had to clasp her fingers together to keep her calm. She had forgotten her current position. Though he was a rogue, a villain, he was a man, and she was a woman, a maid for that matter. Being a maid meant that she was below all creatures, even compared to an evil knave such as himself. There was a moment when she forgot her social status, but he reminded her her place... That she had no control over her own life. That her life was his to decide.

"You..." He unclasped her hands and then gently placed her knuckles under his lips, taking her off guard from the sudden gentleness. Her body was on fire, and waves of unknown feelings flooded her body, paralyzing her ability to think straight. "You... are no ordinary woman. You talked and acted like a real princess.'

He placed her down on the futon, and her body was so weak under his charm she could not resist. She had never had someone treat her with such gentleness...and desire. She was never wanted, never desired. She was always an outcast... always abandoned. He lowered his head- so low that his lips almost brushed on her. "Aizen. Aizen Sousuke. Remember that well." He slipped his fingers into her hair while his thumb caressed her jaw slowly. "This is the name of a man who will own you. However..." He took her face with both of his hands, forcing her to look straight into his eyes, "I have no time to fool around with you now. Tell me..." His voice turned deep and his eyes somehow sucked her in. "Tell me where you hid the princess."

Her body floated in the middle of the sky, and she could not remember who she was anymore. She could not feel, smell, hear, think of anything but a distant voice from a stranger, and strangely that was all she cared about, to answer his question, like she existed just to answer that one question. She searched her mind impatiently to give him that piece of information he desired.

There it was. She had to tell him now. He was waiting for her. She could not let him wait any longer. However, as she was about to open her mind and tell him, there were several voices stopped her.

"Orihime-chan. Don't do it."

"Don't do it. Stupid woman."

"We're here for you. Orihime. Don't do it".

"Don't do it. Don't fall into his spell."

The voices were distant, but they were so annoying. She wanted to cover her ears and blocked them out. She wanted to concentrate so that she could answer his question. Huh... the answer was gone. She could not remember it anymore. Those annoying voices made her forget. Forget about what? Where was she? Who was she?

"_Tell me where you hid the princess."_

There it was, the voice that she had awaited to hear, the goal that she had to accomplish.

"Are you an idiot?" Suddenly she felt like her head was kicked really hard by something... someone... a part of her.

"_We're here for you, Orihime. We're part of you." _ The voices echoed through her heart again, and she saw six golden lights surrounding her. Such small and fragile lights, but there seemed to be life in them.

"_Who are you?" _She wanted to ask, but somehow she was not in her physical state anymore, and it was impossible to open her mouth. However, those lights seemed to understand what she wanted to say and they answered her.

"We are your power. The Shun Shun Rikka."

She tried to reach out to them, to have a clearer look of their forms, but then a distant voice from reality woke her up.

"_Tell me now. Where did you hide the princess?" _The voice was so impatient and it shook the world she was in, and the six lights became weaker.

"We don't have much time left," one voice said. "Orihime. Listen to us. The man in this room is extremely dangerous, even with your power of premonition, it's impossible to get out of here." The voice continued, "but you have us. Your real power. We're made up of two shields and one sword. The first shield is called the Souten Kisshun, the healing shield. It can heal and return everything to its original second shield is called the Santen Kesshun. It can protect you from any force and power. The hypnosis power of this man, for example, was unable to control you because of this shield. The sword is called the Koten Zanshun. It actually is also a shield but is in form of a sword. If you were able to cut your opponent with it, it will put up a shield inside your enemy and splitting the enemy in two, um... theoretically."

"Hurry up," an impatient voice from the lights interrupted. "We can explain everything to her in detail later.'

"Anyway, just focus and call out the shields' names."

She felt a strong energy rush through her body and the lights disappeared completely. She found herself panting under Aizen who was also breathing heavily. He seemed confused and exhausted. Taking this only chance that she had, she called out "Koten Zanshun". A beautiful long sword appeared in her hand, but she really didn't know how to use a sword and secretly wished it could become something more productive in this situation and less harmful. Immediately, to her surprise, the sword changed into a small knife and she used the opportunity to stab it into his hand. She did not want to hurt him though, just somehow wished he could stay still and won't chase after her.

He did not seem to be wounded. There was no blood around the areas where the knife was dug into his hand. The knife look transparent, unreal, almost invisible... like it was made of air and just slipped through his hand. However, the man stopped moving, like he was paralyzed.

Frightened and scared, Orihime ran out of the room, trying to remember the path she must take to get to the dark room from her premonition without anyone noticing.

However, as she passed the door, the guards turned their gazes on her and as a reflex she ran fast into the bamboo forest, unable to remember where to go anymore.

More guards were running after her now, and the formal kimono made it hard to run, she had to pull the hem up with her hands, but then her zouri snapped, making her want to cry. She could not run fast with bare feet on the rocky and thorny ground with men chasing after her like hungry wolves. No, she could not cry. She tried to hold back her tears. She could not cry in this situation. She had to be strong. She had to save Tatsuki. She had to be calm and think hard.

Slowing down her breath, she stopped and took a second to look around. Besides many bamboos, this forest also had several other types of tree around. Holding her zouri in her hands, she ran to the first Sugi in her sight and quickly climbed on it like a cat. She waited for the men to run up to where she hid and then threw a stone far away to have them run hard after it.

She sighed out of relief, she was thankful that it was dark and that she was used to climbing and running since she was a little. Running and hiding was nothing new to Orihime, for she had been doing so during most of her younger life, she could be an expert of it by now. When the men seemed to be gone, she tore a piece of cloth from her kimono and used it to tie her zouri against her feet. It would be hard to walk, much less run in this state, but she had no choices left.

She balanced her breath and began to meditate again.

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><p><strong>AN**: Thanks for reading. Questions?

Zouri is the Japanese scandal made of rice straw or other plant fibers. Hope it answered your question.

Thanks, Sari for helping me correcting some of the spelling/grammar errors in this chapter.


	2. The man in the dark room

**A/N:**

**Help needed!** Um, I noticed that there is another new Ichihime story with a same rating and a very similar name "A Curse". Well, I don't know if this will cause any confusion, so I want to change this story's name into "The Children of God", but then I'm afraid that it might cause even more confusion and you might not be able to find this story if it's under another name. So I need your help. Please let me know if you want me to change this story's title into "The Children of God" or not. Will this make you confuse if I do so?

Just let me know in a review, I'll do what the majority prefer.

Thank you, **Von Remington****, ****nypsy****, yo. ****Sariniste****, Ella, ****luversblues****, ****ranipaki****, ****Lustful Moon****, ****AnnieInWonderland07****, ****BerserkerHellHound **for reviewing the last chapter.

Thanks, **Annie, **for your awesome note. It makes the story flow much better. Thank you very much.

(4/8/12)

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><p>Orihime sighed. She could not focus at all, much less see anything... She could almost feel his breath against her neck-that villain. She shook her head. What was she thinking in this crucial time? But then again, what was he? He was no ordinary man; that was certain, but he was no ordinary human either. She shuddered. She was still feeling dizzy and unstable. She wondered if his power still had any effect on her.<p>

"_Don't worry, Orihime-chan. His power has no effect on you. The shield has stopped him from intruding into your mind." _

From some corner of her mind, she heard the voices talk to her again.

"_His power is called Kyouka Suigetsu. It is an illusion technique." One voice said._

"_More like hypnosis." Another voice interrupted._

"_It's more dangerous than that. It has the power to control the mind completely- to alternate the five senses. In another words, it's the power to create reality from illusion."_

Orihime quivered. Such an abominable power. How long would it take for him to find her? Then she remembered something. "Why did the sword change into a knife and why did it look so transparent when it stabbed into his hand? Why was he paralyzed instead of being wounded?"

"_It was because that was what you wanted," an irritated voice answered her. "My real form is that of a shield, but because my nature is the offensive type so I took form of a sword. However, it was you, the master, who decided what form you wanted me to be. It really does not matter what form I am as long as I could cut into the flesh, I can build up a shield and rip it apart."_

"But then why didn't it hurt him?"

"_Again, it was because of your will. You didn't want to hurt him. Theoretically, my job is to rip the enemy in two when I cut. However, what I really rip into two was what you wish for. Since you didn't want to wound him but only wanted to immobilize him, I built up a shield to halt his ability to move, stopping it from functioning for a while_."

"I still don't quite understand it."

"_Every body has different parts that have different functions. The ability to move, to talk, to feel, to sense, for example. Once I entered his body, I searched for the part that is responsible for his mobility and immobilized it by building a shield within. Understand it now_?"

Orihime blushed. She wished she could understand it better, but she was really dumb when it came to this kind of stuff. However, she had a feeling that the voice that was talking to her would be very angry if she admitted that she didn't understand one bit of what he was talking about. "So you are the sword."

The voice sniffed. "My name is Tsubaki. You still didn't understand it, did you?"

"You cannot blame her. She's still new to this," another voice piped in. "By the way, my name is Lily." Light sparkled amidst the dark night and then a tiny pink-haired female spirit appeared in front of her. "Baigion and I," she continued, pointing at a bald brawny male spirit with a mask that covered the bottom of his face, "and Hinagiku," gesturing at another male spirit with a large eye patch, " are your Santen Kenshun shield. We make a triangle shield that will repel any negative events that occur to you."

Two other spirits appeared. One was a small female spirit covered in a dress larger than her body. She waved her hand shyly to Orihime, "Hi, my name is Ayame." The other one was a blond haired female with topknot, "Hi, my name is Shun'ou. Ayame and I are your Souten Kisshun. Basically our job is healing, but our power is more complex than that. We can return anything to its original state."

A black haired male spirit with a cloth covering half of his face appeared and coughed.

Orihime smiled. "You must be Tsubaki."

The male spirit glared at her. "You're too soft. I doubt that you could be any use for me."

"Don't be so mean, Tsubak,." Lily said. "Orihime, you'll be very powerful once you learn how to use us properly. The vast advantage of our power is our flexibility. We can affect anyone and anything by physical means as well as spiritual and mental means. For example, you can heal a person or freeze him, make him go mad, alter his memory, and even control his mind completely if you really wish so. However, our biggest weakness is that the strength of our power depends on your emotion. When you feel strongly about doing something, that's when we're at our peak, but if you're uncertain about yourself or lack of confidence, our power will be reduced significantly."

Orihime sighed. Now the most important thing was to get out of here and help Tatsuki before Aizen found her...

"Let's fix yourself first, Orihime-chan." Ayame said.

Ayame and Shun'ou formed a golden shield around her body, and slowly, the bruises and scratches on her feet and arms were gone, the parts that were torn from her kimono disappeared, and even her zouri returned to its original state.

Then like a flood, the image of a young man chained in a dark room flashed through her mind again and her heart beat so fast she could barely breathe. She could feel it- he was the one who would help her. He was the one that would get her out of here and save Tatsuki.

She jumped down and leaned her forehead on the tree, trying to remember once again the path to the dark room where the young man was.

"You had the premonition again, didn't you?" Lily said, a hint of sadness in her voice.

Orihime looked at her spirits. Everyone had that same gloomy look on their faces.

Tsubaki crossed his arms, his eyebrows knitted together, "Try not to use your premonition power too much, will you?"

Orihime looked at the fiery spirit in mild surprise. "But why?"

"Just don't use it," Tusbaki said irritably while the others cast their eyes on the ground.

"It's not a matter of using it or not," Orihime said with a sigh. "It's not like I can control it. It comes when it comes. It's not like I want to use this accursed power."

"But you meditated, didn't you? You know that when you focus, the vision will come to you easily than usual."

"But it's the only way to rescue Tatsuki."

"That's why we said don't overuse it. If you want to save your friend, save her by yourself, not by using your supernatural powers. The more you rely on the power, the weaker you will become."

With that Tsubaki disappeared and so did the rest of her spirits.

XxXxXxXx

Orihime walked down a remote path in the forest, her mind clouded with confusion. What was right and what was wrong? Weren't the seven spirits part of her power too? Then did it mean that she should not use them too? If that was what they wanted, why did they appear in the first place and reach out their hands to help her? If she should never use her powers, then why did she have them in the first place? Premonition or Shun Shun Rikka; they were both her power. They were both parts of her self now. They made up of who she was. What did it mean to have power? What was the meaning of not using her power when it was part of what she was?

As Orihime was deep in thought she did not notice that she was standing in front of a small bamboo house. She opened the door and entered the room. It was too dark that she could barely see anything, added to the fact that the house had no windows. Maybe she could ask her spirits if they could bring some light, but then she decided she should not do so. Once she started relying on her power, she could not do anything by herself, then she would be totally useless and hopeless once her power was gone. She shook her head. No, she did not want to be hopeless ever again. She clenched her fists. She could do it by herself. She closed her eyes, and inhaled deeply. The smell of dirt, rotten furniture, and blood assaulted her nose...She followed the faint scent of blood and knelt down. It was from underground. She swept her hands around the areas on the ground where she knelt and discovered a small handle. She opened the secret cover on the floor and saw a long, seemingly endless staircase going downward. Carefully closing the cover, she touched the wall with her hand and leaned on it while taking a cautious step down the stairs.

It was so dark and cold. She was so scared, she wanted to cry, to run away. .She curled her fingers into fists. No, she could not give up now. She was not allowed to give up now. She had to save Tatsuki.

She tripped on a slippery step and fell down, rolling through the stairs all the way to a door that burst open upon impact.

"Who's there?" A deep voice pierced through the darkness.

She crawled on the floor to where the voice came from.

"What do you want?" The voice became hasty, hate and anger evident in it. "What more do you want from me? Isn't torturing me during those four years enough?" There were sounds of chains rubbing and snapping against the wall.

Orihime grabbed what she thought his head and held it close in her chest. She wanted to stop the painful sound from his voice...the pain of his heart.

"Who are you?" The voice became calmer, and there was a sorrowful tone added to it.

She could feel a warm liquid flow from his chest into her stomach. So he was wounded, badly so. She wanted to heal him so much her heart pound ferociously against her chest.

His head fought furiously to get out of her chest. It seemed like his hands were confined by the chains. "Get off of me. You monster. What do you want? Let me go."

Tears moistened her eyes. The desperation in his voice swelled her heart. She moved her hand up to trace her fingers around his face. How she wanted to see his face!

The sounds of the chains clashing against each other and the wall became louder and intolerable as the figure in front of her tried to get out of her hold. How she wanted to see him and let him see her face.

Seven lights exploded in the room, shedding light to her eyes and giving her a view that terrified her to the very core. She couldn't even make out what in front of her. Less like a human and more like a torn beast. Both his arms and legs were chained against the wall. His whole body covered in blood. His upper half was left naked, and there were too many scars on it she couldn't make out if it was a chest of a human. The orange hair was long and messy in blood, it covered half of his face, but she could still see it-his eyes. His eyes were closed to thin slits and there was no traces of blood around it. He seemed to be blind.

"Your eyes..." She traced her fingers around his eyes.

"It was shut long ago. It doesn't even pain anymore."

She touched her forehead with his, her tears dampened his face and mixed with his blood, her arms wrapping around his back. "Souten Kisshun," she murmured.

Slowly, like magic, his wounds were gone, and the half-dead creature in front of her turned into a young man with spiky short orange hair, clad in a black kosode and black hakama. He opened his eyes- deep and bright brown eyes, his mouth forming a scowl. "Who are you? What are you?" He touched his eyes with his hands, horror evident in his face.

She called out her sword and used it to cut his chains, freeing his hands and legs.

She grabbed his hand and tried to drag him out. "Let's get out of here first. We'll talk later."

"Why do I have to follow you?" He rudely shook her hands off. "I don't know you. You must be another evil creature of this castle who tried to get something out of me, do you?" He angrily slammed her against the wall. "I told you millions of times before. I don't know. Search and experiment with my body as much as you want, but I don't have what you need." His grip on her wrists got stronger. "Now give me what you promised. Give my mother back to me." His eyes were burning with hate and resentment that it sent chills down her spine, yet at the same time moved her heart with a wave of sadness and compassion that she had never felt before.

"I need you to save my friend." She looked straight into his eyes. "You can kill me now, but promise me you will save my friend later."

"Stop kidding me." His eyes went bewildered. "People like you won't sacrifice yourself for others." His hands now gripped her neck. "It's a trap, isn't it? When you realize that torturing me won't work, you resort to trick and deception to get what you want. I won't fall for your trap. I'll kill you."

She smiled at him. "No, you won't kill me because you're a kind person."

"How do you know that I'm kind? You don't know what I'm capable of." His grip on her neck tightened and she began finding it hard to breathe.

"I know... because I'm still alive. If you want to kill me, you could have done so already." She coughed, trying to get some air. She was in a very dangerous situation, but she knew that she would be fine because the man in front of her was a kind person. She could feel it. "I believe in you. I believe that you will get me out of here and you will save my friend, and therefore, I'm willing to put my life at stake."

"You..." The darkness in his eyes faded and his grip on her neck lessened. That was when she heard footsteps outside the room and a dozen men in black kimono ran into the room.

"She's here. Capture her."

She looked into the young man's eyes again. "Save me and I'll give my life for you. I'll swear to assist you with my power and never leave your side until you don't need me again."

The men began to charge into her, and with a swing, the orange-haired young man held her waist while punching and kicking the men around her. He was an extremely skilled fighter. Still holding her, he moved swiftly,handling all men with weapons with his bare hands. He successfully knocked all of them out. He then quickly brought her out of the room, running up the stairs while still lifting her with his strong arm around her waist.

As they reached the surface and got out of the bamboo house, he put her down and held her hand instead. "It's faster if we run together, don't leave my hand."

She was grateful that it was dark, because if it wasn't, he would be able to see the deep red blush that was straining on her cheeks.

She always kept her distance from men as the way decent women did in this society. However, today, she unwillingly had to overstep the boundaries because of two men. One was a villain– a rogue– who was against every principle that she believed in. Yet, the close proximity that she had encountered him in made her heart pound fiercely against her chest. Therefore, she feared that she might have liked him despite his wicked nature. However, now she was assured. She was assured that her body's reaction towards Aizen was a mere natural reflection because now, her heart was also beating so fast in her chest. But this time, she felt something she had never felt before. It was like waves of warmth and reassurance were sent from his hand to hers. And now, gliding through the wind as they ran together, she had never felt so free yet so protected.

"Orihime. Inoue Orihime," she murmured, as the two slid through the bamboo forest at an astonishingly fast pace. Well, more like the young man ran or more precisely flew through the air and dragged her with him. His feet were barely touching the ground; or maybe it was too fast that she could not see them touch the ground. She did not know how her body could keep up with his, but it did.

"Orihime. Inoue Orihime," she said again, this time louder, wanting him to hear her, to know her name at least.

'What?" he yelled back, not being able to hear her well with the wind rippling in their ears.

"Inoue Orihime. That's my name."

He turned his head back and smiled at her. "Kurosaki Ichigo."

His smile melted her heart away.

XxXxXxXxXx

The two stopped as they reached a maze that was made of tall trimmed trees. It seemed like the only way to get out of this place was to go through the maze. They had no choice left. If they turned back now they would have to deal with an army of well-trained samurai, but it could also be very dangerous in the maze too. For one, they could easily get lost, and then it was possible that there would be dangerous monsters in there too. There was also no guarantee that those samurai would not run after them into the maze, and if they were familiar with the maze then she and Ichigo would be at a serious disadvantage.

"Let's go, Inoue." Ichigo headed to the maze, his hand was still holding hers tightly, but she stopped him.

"Hold on, Kurosaki-kun. It might be a trap. What if those men deliberately chased us here? We don't know the way to get out of it while they might know every corner of the maze. We could be in a very serious disadvantage if we were to enter this maze."

Ichigo scratched his head irritably. "Tch. If I had my power back, I could just blast the whole maze into ash."

"Your power?" Orihime asked cautiously.

"Yes, my power." Ichigo sighed. "If I call out my sword name 'Zangetsu" then it will..." He stopped as much to his astonishment, a long sword with black blade appeared in his hand. His eyes went wide, "my power... my Zangetsu..."

Orihime looked the sword carefully. The way it appeared was similar to the way her Koten Zanshu first appeared. She guessed they were all spiritual weapons that appeared and disappeared as their masters ordered.

But, she felt chills a chill run down her spine. Something was bothering her. His eyes were burned in pure joy blended with dark ambition and desire– a desire to have more power. He looked like he just got his life back, like this whole life was just to wait for this moment to come.

He swung the sword and turned to the maze. At the same time, those men that were chasing after them also caught up, with more men behind then.

"Getsuga tenshou."

She was terrified of what she saw that she could not move a single muscle.

A huge wave of black flame swept through the maze and in an instant everything turned into ash. The maze itself disappeared, all that remained was a vast empty ground with dying black flames. Her heartbeat quickened in fear. Everything was burned. The trees, the grass, and even the stones. What if those were humans? Would they just vanish like that? This power alone was enough to destroy a small army.

Suddenly she feared for the lives of those men that were behind her, but as she turned her head she saw that they had long gone, running for their own life.

"What are you?" Ichigo lowered his sword and looked at her now. Should she be the one to have asked that question? What was he, really?

He grabbed her shoulders and shook her. "What are you? What's with your power?" He buried his eyes into his palm. "My eyes...I was not merely blinded. Four years ago, my eyes were gouged out. They were not there anymore, but then you just gave them back to me." He released her, but his graze was still on her. "And then my power. During those four years ever that my power was gone, I have been calling Zangetsu's name for every second that I was not tortured, but it never came back...not until today..."

Even she did not understand her power that well. How could she explain it for him? "I'm a healer." She simply said. "I guess that both your eyes and power were healed by my power."

"Is that so?" His face relaxed. It had been known far and wine that some rare healers of this land had extraordinary power that could cure the impossible. "Sorry, Inoue... and thank you." He smiled sadly.

And again, her heart melted under that sorrowful smile.

* * *

><p><strong>AN:**

Thank you very much for reading.

I'm still learning how to write, so please let me know what you think about this chapter, and what should I improve. Is there any parts that you feel like I could have written better? Is there anything in my writing that you don't like or find it annoying?

And don't forget to tell me if I should change the title or not. If we all think that it's better to have a more distinguished title, I'll put up an A/N next chapter (chapter 3) to let everyone know about the change, and I'll change the title in the chapter after that (chapter 4). If it will cause more confusion, then I'll just let it be. Thanks.


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